Monday, April 25, 2011

Fear of Twitter

As silly as it may sound, I had a Twitter phobia. With all the demands on my time, it seemed like the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. All the mysterious talk of hashtags made shivers run down this non-techy girl's spine.

Well, I'm happy to announce I've overcome my fear of tweeting. My blogging buddy, Jill Kemerer, wrote a fabulous tutorial called, "Twitter 101: Creating an Account." I learned:

1) I don't have to own a fancy phone or text to have a Twitter account. I can tweet to my heart's content from my home PC.

2) Unlike blogging and Facebook, if I don't show up for a few days, I won't be in the doghouse.

3) The learning curve isn't as steep as I thought.

All of you who have Twitter accounts are invited to follow me at @susanjreinhardt on Twitter. And - if you're still hiding behind the sofa when someone mentions tweeting, go visit Jill.

31 comments:

Wendy Paine Miller said...

Susan,

Glad to see you joined. It's really grown on me and I've been pointed to some excellent posts there.
~ Wendy

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Wendy -

I haven't been on Twitter very much, but it's growing on me. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Melanie N. Brasher said...

Hey Susan,

Good for you! Hmm, I haven't joined yet, but you're making me think about it:) If I do, I'll find you:)

Mel

Rhonda Schrock said...

Interesting! I felt rather overwhelmed with it, too, and just haven't pursued it yet. But maybe I will now that I know where to go to get started.

Thanks!

Marja Verschoor-Meijers said...

You´re funny Susan! I recognize your fears, haha... I must be the last person on the planet without a cell phone, so I always thought Twitter was not for me, but now you made me re/think my options... maybe I will check it out. Thanks for sharing!

North Jersey Christian Writers Group said...

I too am totally Twitter-phobic. I think it's partly because I'm afraid that (once I get past the learning curve) I'll be spending way too much time on it!

Karen Lange said...

Jill's info was great. I am nearly convinced to hop back on Twitter. Was there for a bit and then ditched it. Will look you up when I get around to it!
Blessings,
Karen

Kristen said...

Hi Susan-
I'm not on Twitter yet, but it's always one of those wondering things for me. Should I? Or shouldn't I? You'll have to let me know how it goes.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Melanie -

Everyone's saying that Twitter is the place to make contacts. Being I'm such a newbie, I suggest you check out Jill's post. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Rhonda -

Jill's two posts on the subject helped me a great deal. I plan to read them again. I'm sure I missed some tips along the way.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Marja -

Ha! You want to talk cell phones? Mine is about as basic as you can get. I want to send and receive calls. Period.

I think Jill's post would do even more to ease your fears.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Susan -

Unlike blogging, there's a strict limitation on how many characters you can use. Also, you're not visiting individual blogs. You're talking to all your followers at once.

When you think about it, that's pretty cool. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Karen -

Yes, her post was excellent. By all means, look me up if you get involved with it again.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Kristen -

I sat on that fence for a couple of years. I'm glad I jumped on. While I'm not very active yet, at least I've started.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Mary Curry said...

Hi Susan,
I'm so glad you've joined Twitter. For some reason, I love Twitter. Maybe because I don't feel compelled to try to catch up like with email. It's more of an in the moment connection with whoever is around. I especially love the encouragement (read prods) from writer friends. It helps make writing less solitary when you know the #amwriting crew is going strong or a #1k1hr challenge is on.

Unknown said...

Welcome to the Twitter universe, Susan! Glad you decided to overcome your fear and hop on board. Looking forward to receiving your tweets! Have a blessed day!

Nancy said...

Jill's post was very good about this. When I'm ready, I'll go back and reread it and look you up. Till then, I'll just keep plugging away at new things on Facebook and the blog.

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Mary -

Thanks for stopping by and commenting. :)

I do like the freedom of Twitter. Of course, it's important to get on now and then.

Blessings,
Susan

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Maria -

Maybe Twitter is where everyone is hiding out these days. I'm looking forward to learning more.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Nancy -

I'm glad you checked out her post. She did an amazing job.

Meanwhile, are we connected on Facebook? I'll have to look you up.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Penny Smith said...

Hi Susan, I'm a tweeter on Twitter through my examiner.com/Harrisburg articles. I don't have time for much more tweeting than that. LOL. Also, I finally got the swagbucks tool bar back. Blessings, Penny

Jill Kemerer said...

Oh, you made my day! Twitter is fun for many people who once "didn't get it" or "were terrified!!" including me!

Thank you for linking back, Susan, and I look forward to your tweets!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Penny -

Awesome! Talk to you soon.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jill -

Thanks for your great article. People talk about Twitter, but I needed a "quick reference guide."

I know others will benefit from this information as well.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Kathi Oram Peterson said...

I'm still learning my way around Tweeter. I still don't quite understand hash tags, but I'm getting there. Hope to see you around the Tweeter block. :)

Jeanette Levellie said...

I have not jumped in this pool yet, due to my time constraints. I have my finger in 23456 pies right now, and am getting messy fingers!

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Kathi -

Jill also did a follow-up post on Twitter. You might want to check it out.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Jen -

I can relate to your concerns. By having the account set up and working at it little by little, at least I've started.

Blessings,
Susan :)

Sandra Heska King said...

Hooray! I love Twitter. Here are some of the reasons why:

http://sandraheskaking.com/2011/03/reflections-on-stickyjesus-chapter-12/

And now I'm off to follow you. :)

Susan J. Reinhardt said...

Hi Sandra -

Woohoo! Thanks for the follow. :)

Blessings,
Susan

Jean Fischer said...

I confess that I haven't been on Twitter as much as I had been. I think it's a good writing exercise to say what you want to say in 140 characters or less.

Blessings!
Jean